EL SALVADOR

EL SALVADOR CITY

EL SALVADOR -- 
JIBOA VALLEY AND 
SAND VINCENTO VOLCANO

El Salvador was almost destroyed by civil war which lasted for 12 year. Now it slowly rebuilt itself with foreign aid and the famous coffee.

When the Spanish tried to conquer El Salvador the inhabitants of the western part of El Salvador drove them out. The inhabitants at the time were the Pipil and they called that part of the country Cuzcation which means 'the land of precious things'.

Pedro de Alvarado attack from Guatemala in 1524 but was unsuccessful. He tried again in 1526 and was beaten back. In 1528 he succeeded. 

The Spaniards founded the city in El Salvador at a place called Ciudad Vieja. It was occupied from 1528 till 1545 and then abandoned. A new city was established where El Salvador city is today.

It was part of the Spanish empire and one of their colonies until El Salvador became independent in 1821. After that its rulers were one dictatorial presidents after another and with it their military juntas (councils).

The people revolted because of poverty and repression and it was the start of a bloody civil war which lasted from 1979 to 1992. The shadowy death squads killed many thousands of civilians. 

Eventually elections were held after a ceasefire was declared by the rebellious FMLN. The country tries now to establish a certain amount of stability.

El Salvador lies on the Pacific side of Central America. It borders on Honduras and Guatemala on the south. It is a small country and is hot and humid on the coast. Towards the inland it is getting cooler. It has two long chains of volcanoes. One volcano which towers above San Salvador is still active and erupted in 1917. In the west is Mount Izalco and it is the most active volcano. It has been nicknamed the 'Lighthouse of the Pacific' because in 19th century, sailors set their course to the continuous glow from its summit.

As if that is not enough it is also in the earthquake zone. The modern building in San Salvador has many low buildings designed to withstand earthquakes.

Since the land has been too much cultivated, the soil is very poor. Only small sections of the original forest has been left but in spite of all this a big wildlife remains; such as monkeys, jaguars, tapirs, many kind of birds, reptiles and fish.

El Salvador is the most overpopulated country in Central America. Therefore, poverty is widespread. The people are descendants from Indians and Spaniards and called Mestizos. They are surviving on basic agriculture. The country main export is coffee and its economy depends almost totally on it.

SAN  SALVADOR